Rev. Robert Ruglovsky

Summary of Case: Accused of molesting at least 7 boys. He stated that he first abused in Ohio and Michigan and then he moved to Minnesota where he abused six other boys. Criminal charges were filed in Minnesota in 1987. Sentence was 15 yrs probaton and 1 yr. jail with participation in sex offender program. One civil suit filed in 1994 in California & 2 other suits filed in Minnesota in 1988. He admitted to molesting numerous boys over a 20 yr period.

Ordained: 1961

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
1961 1962         Not indexed in the 1962 Directory.

1962

Pittsburgh Greek Rite bishop was Nicholas T. Elko (1955-1967).

1963 St. Joseph's

Cleveland

• Ruglovsky admitted in a 1990 deposition that he molested a 12 year old altar boy at St. Joseph's in 1962. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

OH 2/2 St. Joseph's had a school with 150 students.
1963 1964 Holy Ghost

Cleveland

• Admitted in a 1990 deposition to sexually abusing two 13 year old boys while at Holy Ghost. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

OH 2/2 Holy Ghost had a school with 127 students.
1964 1966 Byzantine Catholic Seminary of SS Cyril and Methodius Pittsburgh PA    

1966

Stephen J. Kocisko followed Elko as bishop (1967-1991).

1968 St. Nicholas

Barberton

• Confessed in a 1990 deposition to convincing the mother of a 12 year old boy to allow the boy to stay with him at the rectory, and that the boy lived with him for two months. Ruglovsky stated that the two slept in the same bed and that he had "sexual contact" with the boy four nights a week. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

OH 1/1 Temporary Administrator  

1968

Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Parma was erected in 1969. It's first bishop was Emil Mihalik (1969-1984).

1971 Christ the King

Taylor

• Ruglovsky admitted in 1990 to sexually abusing the paper boy in 1969 or 1970 while at Christ the King. Ruglovsky was transferred out of the parish after he was found to have stolen $100,000 from bingo game proceeds. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

MI 1/1  
1971 1972 St. Stephen's Euclid OH 2/2 St. Stephen's had a school with 243 students.
1972 1973 St. Michael's Cleveland OH 1/1  
1973 1977 St. Stephen's

Euclid

 

 OH

2/2
Associate Pastor

St. Stephen's had a school with 235-243 students.

Ruglovsky had a "nervous breakdown" requiring hospitalization while at St. Stephen's. He had a history of psychological problems which required hospitalizations and medication. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

1977 1981 Protection of the Mother of God (or Our Lady of Protection) Denver CO 1/1  

1981

Andrew Pataki replaced Mihalik as Parma bishop (1984- 1995).

1987 St. John the Baptist

Minneapolis

• Removed from this parish after being accused in 1987 of sexually abusing six boys between the ages of twelve to fourteen, from November 1986 to February 1987. Ruglovsy pleaded guilty . (United Press International,May 8, 1987) He was sentenced to a year in a workhouse, 15 years probation and ordered into a sex-offender treatment program. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 11, 1990)

MN 1/1  
1987 1990 Absent on Sick Leave        
1990 1991         Ruglovsky is not indexed in the 1991 Directory.
1991 2008 Absent on Leave

       


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963-2007).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Ruglovsky's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 22, 2009